


Weekends with the Weasley-Potter gang

by Stuckytrashaf



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Asexual Character, Bad Jokes, Coming Out, F/F, F/M, Fake Dating, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Meme queen rose weasley, Mutual Pining, Secret Relationship, Teasing, and puns, drunken antics, everyone is happy and good, gay bs, james sirius potter is a bucket of dad jokes, literally who is straight?, lowkey polyamory, not me, so many puns, starts of kinda dark but it will get more fun dont worry!, teddy is an angel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 10:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9229778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stuckytrashaf/pseuds/Stuckytrashaf
Summary: In which Albus' family weren't.. well, awfulTeen antics and fun stuff





	1. What's Up

Saturday 6th Feb 2022

The novelty cigarette lighter -which was ornamented with a rather crude message, and had been ‘borrowed’ from her oldest, and supposedly most ‘mature’ brother, unless the lighter was anything to go by- that the girl held out in front of her frail body did little to illuminate the path ahead. Instead, it made the gnarled trees somewhat beautiful, in a creepy ’Tim Burton’ sort of way -she was half tempted to pull out her phone and capture the scenery with a photo, but she knew that was a particularly ridiculous idea, considering her current circumstances.  
On top of this, the small orange flame that the lighter created, and that often flickered out, stung her fingertips like tiny, unrelenting pinpricks. 

In the short moments that her limited source of light faltered, the girl could have sworn that she could feel a rush of cool air brushing her exposed ankles. She wished, in those moments especially, that she had worn jeans like she had originally planned, rather than allowing Lavender to manipulate her into the black dress that may have hugged her curves in a way that she supposed was ‘flattering’ and that, as Lavender had put it: brought out the blue in her eyes, but did nothing to protect her from the cool February air. Yes, jeans would certainly have been preferable for a midnight walk in the woods. Though, how could Lavender -or indeed the girl herself- have known that she would be here, in the very forest (nicknamed ‘dead woods’ by the very creative older generation) that she’d feared since she knew what the word ‘dead' meant, and today of all days. It wasn’t even Halloween, for goodness sake!

The girl, who had never been particularly religious, thanked God or whoever was out there, that she’d at least convinced Lavender that heels weren’t strictly necessary for a surprise 16th birthday party for Albus of all people- who would’ve been happier with a trip to the local art gallery than the huge get together that Rose had insisted they throw him. The comfortable white sneakers she wore were the one positive in a sea of ridiculousness. 

Each step the girl took seemed to be wrong, and she was sure that she had passed the same littering of beer cans and remnants of a trip to the local chip shop at least three times now. She was lost. Well and truly lost. More lost than Lavender in a Potions class, more lost than Al on a date with a girl. Lost with only her phone, which she had turned off to stop the stream of messages from the group chat she was a part of with the other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And -to make matters worse, as if that were possible- the very phone that had a mere 12 percent battery (courtesy of her desperate oldest brother's relentless calling of his best friend after a particularly bad argument, in which Teddy -the bitter, and rightfully so, friend- had blocked her brother's phone number, and as she was “literally the best sister in the world, thanks Lil”, her phone had become the metaphorical surrogate.)  
Well, in addition to her phone, she had a lighter that was bound to become useless sooner or later. (Sooner, if the copious amount of times she had caught her brother smoking were an indication).

Still, the girl needed to keep moving. To stop was to admit defeat, and that was something that Lily Luna Potter never did, No, if she could learn Troll to prove a point, she could find this stupid ‘forest cult’, as if it existed. It was a ghost story, a fairy tale, and a stupid lie- nothing more. She resented James for insisting it was real, and Lavender for agreeing, and Al for declaring that Lily had to ‘check’ if she wanted to prove that the cult didn’t exist. Still, although logic and rationality told her that there was absolutely not a cult of demonic witches who delighted in possessing the bodies of mortals in the woods that encompassed her, she couldn’t help but remember the childhood terror that she’d felt towards the place.

“State your name and purpose,” a steely voice ordered. 

The girl spun on her heels in the direction of the voice, almost tumbling over as she barely avoided a tree stump at her feet. She held the lighter out, away from her body, searching for the source of the voice. Lily was really regretting leaving her wand inside.

“This is it.. i’m dying. And I haven’t even left the country, i’ve wasted my life. Too much Netflix and not enough living, I never thought I would say this but wow, gosh, I really regret rejecting that party with Lavender in favour of Jessica Jones now, twelve episodes worth of my life gone. And now i’m going to be killed by satanic demon bitches, I should’ve listened in class and then maybe I’d know what to do right now, is there a counter spell to demons? Rose would definitely know what to do..."

“State your name and purpose.’ 

Silencing her rambling and clearing her thoughts, the voice seemed to cut through her mind as swiftly as a sword through the air. Something compelled her to speak, though she could not say what. Perhaps the icy, commanding voice, or her desire for discovery- when she thought back to it, she would say that she had not had a choice.

“My name is Lily Luna Potter. I wish to escape from this place.”

The voice laughed then, and a figure stepped out from the shadows, quickly and slowly all at once, illuminated by the soft glow coming from the flame at her fingertips. The figure appeared as neither corporeal or uncarnate, neither as man or woman. Just as a presence, half there and half not.  
It was moving towards her, fast. Like a firework soaring into the sky. And then, just as it had materialised from nowhere, the figure disappeared.  
Her arms felt numb suddenly, and the lighter slipped from her shaky grip, any light vanishing with it. Her body no longer felt like her own. It felt weightless all of a sudden, and so cold- now, though, she did not mind the cold. It felt natural. Lily could feel her heart slowing, almost coming to a stop in her chest. And then, both unexpectedly, and with perfect calm, and without even meaning to, her lips parted and a voice that she knew as her own spoke out. 

“And so you will.”

What the fuck?


	2. Wasn't Expecting That

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for most fun: read whilst listening to troye sivan. no reason, he just has nice, chill songs.
> 
> also the titles of the chapters are the names of random songs, yes.

Saturday 6th Feb 2022

Grey fingers reached towards her, they clawed at her temples and ripped at her mind, they pulled her and grasped her and broke her down. Lily shut her eyes, as if it would block out the claws gripping at her. She was a child playing hide-and-seek, if I can’t see you, you can’t see me. Her fingers curled into fists, and she could feel her palms growing wet with blood where her nails held too tight.  
Her mind felt too large for her head, and when she parted her lips to scream for help, the words caught in her throat.  
When Lily dared to open her eyes, her eyes widened with confusion. She was no longer in the forest, the creature (was it a creature?) hadn't lied. Lily was back where she had begun the evening, standing at the front door of the classic 'muggle party hall' Rose had chosen for Albus' birthday party.

Lily's head no longer ached. In fact, she felt fine. As though nothing had happened at all- could she have imagined everything? Her mother always said that Lily had an impressively active imagination, just like her step-mother. Lily shook her head clear of thoughts, it didn't matter, because she was back where she was supposed to be. And after the party was over, she could ask her father. After all, he was Harry Potter the self-proclaimed 'king of weird shit'.

The door was decorated with a 'Happy Birthday' banner that her Uncle George had charmed so that it sung Britney Spears songs whenever someone came too close, Aunt Hermione had asked if this was too blatant a display of magic, but Uncle George had insisted that it was fine because,"Muggles have singing birthday cards now 'Mione, chill. And besides, it's muggle music!"  
To which Aunt H had just sighed and reluctantly agreed.

Now, as Lily stood directly in front of the banner, 'Oops I did it again' was playing at full volume, and Lily was beginning to wish that Aunt H hadn't left the banner up. Not that she particularly disliked the song, it was just rather loud.

The door was locked, and Lily's wand was inside, meaning that she was going to have trouble getting back in- the noise from inside was so loud that Lily doubted that anyone would hear if she knocked. Thankfully, the gods seemed to be on her side, because a window to her left was wide open, and Lily was pretty certain that she had enough athletic ability to climb through it. She was the star player of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Best Chaser since Ginny Weasley. (Sometimes Uncle Ron said Lily was even better than her mother).

When Lily approached the window, which seemed smaller now that she was close, she noticed that it opened into a bathroom, and that Rose and Lavender stood inside washing their hands and talking in hushed voices.  
Not wanting to be seen, because this whole situation was quite honestly rather embarrassing, Lily ducked beneath the open window waiting for the girls to leave.  
Unfortunately, they didn't seem to be in any hurry. On the other hand, Lily was quite certain that the girls were gossiping. Something Rose generally avoided as a rule, and that Lavender frequented in (a trait that that Lily was sure she had picked up from her mother, Pavarti- who was well meaning, but quite nosey).  
Lily closed her eyes, trying to focus on the girls soft voices. She could just about make out what they were saying when she focused.

"No, Rose, i'm being serious! Al came over to me, all serious, and was like 'can we talk..privately', he was blushing and all nervous!"

"Shit.. do you think he fancies you?"

"I don't know! But what else could he have wanted to talk about, looking that nervous? Did you see him, Rose?"

"Yeah, he was pretty red.. but what about Scorpius? I always assumed.."

"That's what I thought!" Lavender had cut Rose off. "And that's also why I excused myself and dragged you to the toilets!" 

A laugh. "Well you should probably tell him that he has no chance, Lav,"

"But that's so mean! I'd feel evil, Al is so nice,"

"Yes, but you can't just pretend to fancy him,"

"I could.."

"Not when you're in love with my OTHER cousin!" Another, slightly nervous laugh from Lavender.

Wait. Lily almost lost balance. Rose's other cousin. Not Albus. Her best friend was in love with.. James?

"That would be mean," Rose continued.

"I suppose.." Lavender sounded resigned, "God, this will be the most horrible conversation of my life.. maybe I should just hide in the bathroom forever.."

"Come on, better to get it over with," Rose chuckled, Lily risked a peek over the window-ledge, and watched as Rose half-pulled, half-guided Lavender out of the room.

Lily let herself collapse on the ground then, allowing herself to process what she had just heard.  
Albus secretly fancied Lavender? But Lavender secretly fancied James?  
Fuck. Lily was in a love quartet with her best friend, and BOTH of her brothers. Because, she herself was stupidly, secretly in love with Lavender.  
Goddam, if she thought she didn't have a chance before, now she was certain. And to top it all off, Lavender had told Rose that she had a crush on James, but she hadn't told Lily! Lavender was hardly even close to Rose!

Just another bad thought that Lily needed to shake off, and she did, before pulling herself up off the ground.  
The windowsill was dusty, but wide enough to grip, and Lily used it to hoist her body up. Once her waist was aligned with the windowsill, she pushed with extra force and lifted her legs over the windowsill, and jumped down into the room. Thankfully, the fall wasn't very far, and Lily landed on her feet quite steadily.

"Nice one,"

Lily was so startled she thought she might topple back out of the window.

"Mum what the fuc- I mean hell,"

Her mother laughed, from the doorway. Her long red hair swaying prettily as she did. Lily had always been jealous of her mother's hair, she could never tame her own messy hair, and so it often stood in odd directions- which was what had caused her to chop off most of it the year before, into a pixie cut, just so the messy look seemed purposeful. Lavender had said it made Lily look 'buff', Lily wasn't sure what that meant, but Lav had assured her it was a good thing.

"What are you doing climbing through the bathroom window?" her mother asked, an amused smile on her lips.

Lily wasn't quite sure how to answer that. The truth was ridiculous, but Lily was basically incapable of keeping anything from her mother.  
In fact, the day that Lily introduced Lavender to her mother -back in second year- Ginny had immediately known of Lily's crush on her best friend.  
Her mother claimed Lily's eyes gave it away.  
Of course, Ginny hadn't cared that Lily was gay (after all, Ginny was gay, and had divorced her father when she accepted this fact -though they were still best friends- when Lily was eight, and married Lily's step-mother Luna two years later.. and come to think of it, most of her mother's friends were gay), and she had sat Lily down and been really supportive, and told her not to let Lavender break her heart. Then they'd watched 'Game Of Thrones' (the 2017 movie version in which Sansa Stark and Margaery Tyrell were an unfairly cute couple- to this day, the film was her favourite pick-me-up). 

"I accidentally locked myself out," Lily eventually replied.

Her mother just laughed, not questioning Lily, which Lily guessed this was due to the many beers that her mother had been drinking before Lily left earlier. 

"Well, get back to the party. Rose has been asking where you are, because Lavender's gone off with Al," her mother told her.

Lily nodded and crossed the room. She allowed her mother to 'fix' her hair, though she suspected it was only getting messier, and then opened the door, muttering a 'bye'.

The bathroom door opened into a large hall, the main room for this party. Rose had roped Lily, Hugo, and Lorcan into helping set up (James and Lysander had refused, saying they had 'important school work', though Lily was pretty sure James was actually just drinking firewhisky in the local wizard pub with Teddy, Lavender's older brother Brandon, and Victorie).

Lily had to admit she was quite proud of how nice the room looked. One corner had a few very comfortable, and really pretty, green sofas (to celebrate Albus' Slytherin-ness), and in the middle of the room was a very over the top dance floor. Green and silver fairy lights lit up the room, draped along the walls using magic. Tables of Al's favourite foods lined the far wall, and Lily headed straight for the table directly ahead of her when she eyed the cupcakes herself and Lavender had baked the day before. 

She had barely taken a bite from a cupcake before she was interrupted, a face appeared out of nowhere, when she turned to face the middle of the room. And standing so close that she could smell the alcohol on his breath, was a very drunk Scorpius.

"Lilyyyyyyy!" he slurred, a happy smile on his face,"How're'you?" 

Scorpius could barely stand without resting his hand on the table for support, and Lily suspected that this was the first time he had ever drank- Draco himself barely drank, after all.  
True to her suspicions, Draco appeared from behind Scorpius, looking particularly tired.

"I should not have let him have that glass of wine," he told Lily, sighing, though she could see the amusement in his eyes.

"Mm probably not.. surely he's had more than one glass, though?" Lily questioned, gesturing at Scorpius who had found Rose and was dragging her onto the dancefloor, as he swayed enthusiastically to 'Wannabe' by the Spice Girls (Lily wondered who the hell had filled tonights playlist with old muggle music, and why she recognised so much of it- she suspected Lavender was the answer to both questions).

"Albus may have snuck him a few bottles of firewhisky," Rose admitted, as she escaped from Scorpius' grip.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Lily found herself squashed between James, Teddy, and Rose on one of the sofas, as Scorpius lay across their laps, somehow sleeping as they were belting out shit muggle songs and sharing a bottle of Pumpkin Vodka (which was more awful than it sounds, but had high alcohol content, which according to James was the most important part of drinking).

She hadn't seen Lavender since the bathroom conversation, and if it wasn't for all the drinking, then she probably would have noticed.  
Instead, what Lily noticed was the lack of Victorie.  
Not that Vic wasn't at the party. She was. Lily could see her now, dancing with Roxanne and Uncle Bill. But she wasn't with Teddy, and Vic was ALWAYS with Teddy. Since getting together about five years ago, they'd been basically inseparable.

Lily wondered if they'd had a fight, but decided against it, because Teddy was smiling at Lily's side, and Vic looked perfectly happy as she twirled around in a gorgeous white dress. Besides Teddy couldn't fight with anyone, not properly. He was too nice. Too much of a lovely Hufflepuff. Evidence to this was James, who was basically in Teddy's lap, despite the fact that they weren't on speaking terms when Lily had left earlier that night. 

Lily might have thought about this more, if she hadn't been verging on drunk, and if when she looked up Albus hadn't appeared hand-in-hand with Lavender.


	3. HELP (i need somebody)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one, I didn't have time to write a full length chapter, but I hadn't updated in a while and wanted to get something written before I forgot how. Shit's going down next chapter...

Saturday 14th February 2022

Lily Luna Potter had never been more miserable in her life. 

Her best friend (AKA the love of her life AKA Lavender May Thomas-Finnegan), was dating her brother (AKA The Traitor AKA Albus Severus Potter).  
Not only was she dating him. She was dating him very publicly and very happily. It was disgusting. Every time Lily turned around they were holding hands, or whispering like they had a special secret that was only theirs. She hated it.

It hurt to watch someone you loved with anyone else, but seeing Lavender with Al was 100 times worse. 

The whole school seemed to be obsessed with the new couple, and they didn't shy away from rumours or PDA. Even when Lily managed to get away from them, she would constantly overheard younger students gossiping excitedly wherever she went. Sure, it was 'Albus Potter's' first relationship, and being the son of The Chosen One made his private life public business- but it felt as if people waited for Lily to arrive to discuss it. Even the media was obsessed. The last edition of 'Speak' which was basically just a new wizard gossip magazine, featured a double page spread about Lavender and Albus' new romance, and a picture of the two of them holding hands at Al's birthday party was on the front page.

The only times that Lily got to spend time with Lavender was in class, except that recently Lavender had been overly invested in work and therefore ignored Lily all lesson in favour of scribbling notes, and at night in their dorm room- even then, Lavender had began arriving in their dorm room late and barely having time to speak to Lily. 

Her only salvation in this frustrating and painful time, was Scorpius Malfoy. Due to Albus' increased time spent with Lavender, Albus' best friend was left without someone to.. do whatever they did. Homework, probably. This free time had resulted in Scorpius clinging onto Lily, who also had a preoccupied best friend.  
This strange new friendship worked better than Lily had expected it to when Scorpius had cornered her in the library and insisted that she accompany him to the Gryffindor common room because -as he very loudly told her- he "cannot watch Albus and Lavender snog in MY dorm room for another second, it's ridiculous and quite honestly disgusting!"

As they sat together at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall eating breakfast, hiding from their lovestruck best friends wearing oversized yellow sweaters that Lily had stolen from James (and which James had most likely stolen from Teddy), Lily overheard a Hufflepuff second year complaining that they were too young to attend the 'Amore Ball'. She groaned into her buttered toast, remembering the dance that she had promised Lavender she would attend weeks ago. Scorpius seemed equally displeased by the idea of the ball, as he scrunched his face in disgust. If Scorpius looked more like his father, the expression would appear snide or rude. Instead, Scorpius' 'attractive' face (or that's what Lavender had said once, Lily wasn't the best judge of male beauty) made him seem like a slightly pissed off, but quite frankly adorable child. 

"Are you going to the ball, Scorpius?" 

"I can't think of anything worse, honestly. But I have too because my Father is being forced there by the Ministry, so he'll kill me if I don't endure it with him," Scorpius sighed.

Lily nodded, knowing that her parents were also attending (she found it very strange that everyone's parents had been invited to the ball, and frustrating because it meant that even if she could convince Lavender to let her off going, her parents would insist she attended).

"I don't know what i'm going to do about the whole 'date' thing.. " Lily admitted, slightly worried. Every student who attended must attend with a date, and she had been planning on going with Lavender, as friends, but now that her best friend was dating Albus, Lily was left dateless. This date rule was stupid, but a tradition that was apparently quite important. 

Scorpius bit his lip as if he had forgotten this, then shrugged,"We can go together if you want? As friends."

Relieved, Lily nodded, and turned her attention back to her breakfast, using her wand to practise making a cup of tea with magic. Tea always tasted worse this way, but her Charms teacher insisted that it would improve the more Lily practised, so as a huge tea-fanatic, she was set on creating the perfect cuppa.  
This time, the tea came out lukewarm, but she was pretty sure it tasted slightly better than usual, so she was going to go ahead and count it as a victory.


	4. A Winters Ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHOS BACK BACK BACK AGAIN

Saturday 14th February 2022 (later than evening)

Scorpius Malfoy didn't do parties. He didn't like pretending to be interested in whatever cute girls had caught the attention of his fellow housemates. He didn't like staying up late in a crowded, sweaty room full of people he quite frankly didn't really like. Given the choice, he would be curled up in an armchair by the fireplace reading, and drinking too much tea than was strictly necessary.   
However, as luck (and Scorpius' father) would have it, he was buttoning up a crisp, freshly pressed green shirt and mentally preparing himself for a night of agonising over Albus and Lavender's gross affection.

Albus, who was blindly oblivious to Scorpius' despair, was already dressed and seemed very impatient to leave. His tousled, dark hair flopped into his eyes as he sat on the end of his bed, impatiently tapping his feet to a vaguely familiar beat. Albus' suit was emerald green, and his shirt was silver- complimenting Scorpius' green shirt and silver suit. 

As Scorpius pulled on his jacket -which his father had had tailored for him over a long gruelling process that Scorpius had hated every minute of- he took a deep breath and looked to his friend who was now so restless he seemed he might burst.

"Ready?" 

Albus looked up suddenly, his expression full of annoyance. 

"I've been ready for hours-

"Minutes,"

-of course I'm ready-

"Ok, ok,"

-let's go,"

Albus jumped up, his long legs making him bound across the room as he sped up, seeming surprisingly eager to get to the 'ball'. Then again, Scorpius supposed, Albus probably wanted to see his girlfriend.

_________________________________

 

Lavender looked beautiful.

Her tight, dark red crushed velvet dress that stretched over her lightly tanned thighs and came to a rest above her knees showed off her curves, and Lily had to hide her blush beneath her duvet cover (as she was hiding herself in bed). 

As Lavender twirled around the room applying her makeup and magicing her thick, long hair into neat waves, Lily couldn't help but stare at her best friend. She hadn't seen her alone in such a long time, and although their other friends were only in bathroom, applying makeup and whatnot, she's couldn't help but smile.

"Lils, you need to get ready. We have to meet the boys soon-

"An hour,"

-so hurry up!"

Lily rolled her eyes, but obeyed her best friend. Her own dress -understated and gold- hung on her wardrobe door and she climbed reluctantly from the warm confines of her bed to go change into the dress. 

_________________________________

"Albus!"

"Lavender!"

They looked good together, Lily mused; Lavenders arms wrapped around Albus' shoulders, his hands resting comfortably on her waist as they greet eachother. Her soft hair tumbles down her back and her lips curve into a pleased smile as she whispers something quietly to Albus, to which he shoves her gently and laughs, face reddening lightly. 

"Scorpius,"

"Lily,"

He raises his hand and Lily extends her own, going for a high five, except Scorpius' hand is very ..unmoving and she realised that he was actually going for a handshake.

"You look nice," he tells her, she can tell he is being honest, but that in no way means he is passing as straight. It doesn't matter, he knows he has no need to fool her, and she's the only person paying attention. Albus and Lavender have already pulled ahead of them as the four of them walk to The Great Hall, arm linked as she whispers happily, and occasionally let out bouts of musical laughter.

This is going to be a long night, Lily thinks.

"I know," Scorpius sighs, giving her a reassuring smile. We're in this together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to update wow, and also that this is pretty short and not much happened I just have a lot of stress ATM bc of exams and shit but hey hope you enjoyed this little piece of joy and also sorry that I can't use tenses correctly whoops


	5. Do I Wanna Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OOOH the ball. At last!

Saturday 14th February (the Amore ball)

Everyone was here. Mum with Luna, both in beautiful gowns (mum's black and classic, Luna's blue and twinkling with gems and glitter), smiling gleefully and waving at the foursome as they made their way into the ballroom. Dad (decked out in expensive dress robes), with Teddy (who was wearing the yellow, Hufflepuff inspired bow-tie that James bought him for Christmas). Uncle Ron, already talking to Lavender's dads. Aunt Hermione, brushing cat hairs from poor Hugo's suit. Rose had even come, she stood, laughing, with James-evidently the pair had come together platonically but began to work her way around the room.

Lily searched the room with perhaps unnecessary detail, desperate to look anywhere but at the couple beside her. Lily could tell Scorpius had noticed because he gently touched her arm and exclaimed that he could see his father. And the excused then to say hello, though Lily wasn't sure whether Draco Malfoy had actually arrived yet.

"Father!"

Scorpius didn't seem to be speaking to any one person, however, his words all but summoned Malfoy.

"Scorpius! Son, I've been looking for you!"

Lily couldn't quite understand the rivalry her father had with Malfoy in his own time at Hogwarts. She found Scorpius' father quite delightful. His wit and adoration of Scorpius were admirable- in Lily's opinion.  
The way Malfoys face had lit upon, as he saw his son warmed Lily's heart. It was nice that Scorpius had someone who was so pleased to be around him, she wished she could be that person. It was a hard life being in love with your straight best friend. The both knew that well.

"Well, here I am father,"

Scorpius seemed far less enthusiastic; most likely that was due to his resentment towards his father for making him attend the ball. She understood, not wanting to be here either. Especially when she knew that Lavenders heart really belonged to James, and not Albus. It wasn't fair on her poor brother. Lily wished she had the nerve to call Lavender out, but found whenever she tried she couldn't get the words out.

"I should go talk to Granger," Malfoy told them, sensing their teen angst,"You kids go talk to Victorie. She wanted to tell you something, last I saw her she was in the gardens,"

With that Malfoy sauntered away towards Aunt Hermione, emerald green dress robes swishing elegantly behind him as they watched him disappear into the thick crowd. Soon enough his platinum blonde hair was indistinguishable from the crowd of students and family members alike.

"Well?" Lily shrugged at Scorpius, vaguely motioning her left hand towards the gardens,"Shall we?'

Scorpius looked over his shoulder, back to where Lavender and Albus were -quite obnoxiously- dancing together, very closely. They were quite inconsiderate, really. Plenty of boys and girls liked Lavender- she was the coolest girl in the year. And there were probably plenty of people who fancied Albus, being Harry Potters son and all. James certainly never had trouble getting girlfriends. Or, Lily and Rose often speculated, the occasional boyfriend. He nodded at Lily, face tinged with pink, looking every part a star miserable as Lily herself felt.

Together they weaved their way past multitudes of dancing couples. With every happy pairing they passed, Lily visibly seethed. Scorpius had to grab her arm to stop her from physically attacking her cousin when they saw Rose Weasley dancing. Her arms draped around the neck of a cute Hufflepuff boy with lovely hair, and a lovelier Slytherin girlfriend (who's hands were on Rose's waist.) The three of them were disgustingly cute. But since when did Megan Abbott share? Scorpius would have to consult his source of gossip when this night was over. If he could get her away from his best friend, that is..

"But it's not fair!" Lily hissed to Scorpius, red hair matched only but the darkening of her cheeks,"I get no one and she gets two someones!"

Scorpius, unfairly Lily thought as he was just as pathetic in his own pining, chuckled and shook his head at her expense; though he did squeeze her hand gently so she knew for sure that he was joking. As if she would have thought Scorpius Malfoy was capable of being anything close to unkind. Still holding hands, the pair pushed past the last of the crowd, stumbling into the gardens. Relief huge, it had been horribly claustrophobic in the ballroom.

They did not need to look far to find Victorie. The gardens, whilst large and decorated with a sizable gazebo (currently strung with rose tinted fairy lights) as well as numerous flower patches, were not busy enough to distract from the large oak tree which stood proudly to their left. From this tree hung a wooden swing, painted white with bluebells threaded through the wicker seat. On this swing sat Victorie Weasley. Though she was some distance away, and partially invisible due to the dim lighting, the shock of gold blonde hair was absolutely unmistakable. Victorie's champagne coloured gown which was loose fitting, and seemingly ethereal seemed to glisten as she swung gently. As she swung, the girls eyes were fixed on her lap, and she didn't appear to notice the duo as they approached her unsurely.

"Vic?" Lily inquired, voice soft, not wanting to alarm her cousin,"Is everything okay?"

For a moment it seemed that Victorie hadn't heard her, for her head remained bowed. Lily exchanged a glance with Scorpius, unsure of how to pursue this encounter. But before she could plead aid from her accomplice, Lily's cousin looked up at her. The girl looked a mess. Her eyes red and wet, her lips swollen and bitten. Her usually flawless face was sputtered with blotchy red colouring. Her hair, now that Lily was close, was dishevelled. Lily had never before seen her cousin with so much as a hair out of place. The misery on the girls face was immediately evident. Scorpius' grip on Lily's hand tightened as he withheld a gasp.

"I'm so so sorry Lil, please tell him I'm sorry," Victories usually melodic voice was scratchy and choked with quiet sobs. Only a week prior, Lily had seen her cousin joyfully spinning around the dance floor. Lily's mind blanked at what could've made her so desperately unhappy. The only person who evoked such intense emotion from her cousin was Teddy. Could Victorie have fought with Teddy? Except for the problem with this theory was that Lily had seen Teddy happily talking to her father minutes ago, in the ballroom. As Lily searched her mind for possible answers, Scorpius voiced her initial theory.

"What do you mean, Vic? Did you have a fight with Teddy?" 

Victorie sighed at that, heavily; nothing like the pretty sighs and yawns Lily was used to from her cousin. This was a sigh or true despair. She raked a dainty hand roughly through her hair, mussing it further. Lily felt at once the almost motherly urge to smooth down Victories soft curls. The girl slumped forward on the swim, pushing her heeled shoes into the floor and throwing her face into her arms all in one smooth motion. 

"Worse," she cried, her voice high all of a sudden, and childlike in its tearfulness.

Lily let go of Scorpius' hand and knelt before her cousin, confusion clouding her green eyes. 

"Vic?" she inquired, gently placing a hand on her cousins cheek and compelling Victorie to look at her. The girl bit her lip and took a deep breath, even inhaling she was shaky and worked up.

"It was an accident, I swear," she began, tears brimming in her eyes,"I wasn't thinking,"

Lily heard herself as she gasped, trying to join the dots. She thought the had a solution.

"Vic.. did you cheat on Teddy?" she pondered in disbelief. But they cared so much for one another, surely she was wrong. Lily felt Victorie stiffen beneath her hand.

The girl shook her head quickly. Thank God. 

"We've been broken up for a while now, and on good terms. We're still best friends.. "

Lily gaped, she couldn't help it. The couple she admired and idolised the most.. just friends? But then, what was the problem? Worse than cheating.

Sensing Lily's confusion, Victorie launched into an explanation. 

"We broke up a little after Christmas. He realised something about himself and I realised something about myself. It's not that we stopped loving each other; I'll always love him, forever and ever. But we realised that we had never actually been in love, you understand? I realised that I didn't actually feel attraction beyond aesthetics, so I never wanted to.. you know...I thought it was normal because he never wanted to do anything either, but when he came out to me, well I realised maybe it was something beyond wanting my first time to be special. He was fine with it, of course, so we broke up on good terms, but never told anyone because he wasn't ready to come out. It was easier for everyone, really. And God... Before we left, I had been drinking. Quite a lot. And I told dad, it just slipped out, I didn't mean to do it.. and mum overheard. And oh god, I'm so sorry. Mum is absolutely furious. She thinks that Teddys been stringing me along this whole time. And I'm so worried that she will call him out in front of everyone. You know how she gets... fuck, what am I going to do,"

This was a lot. Lily barely had time to process all that she had been told when, from behind the trio, she heard screaming and then the heavy sound of footsteps approaching.

"VICTORIE WEASLEY, YOU'RE LUCKY I'M A HUFFLEPUFF OR I'D KILL YOU!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to do something nice but then this happened..


End file.
